Press Publications 4779 Bloom Avenue White Bear Lake, MN 55110 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
Same Day Crowns
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 9 CIRCLE PINES, MN
651-653-3802
667573
Dr. Joy Johnson Dental Care for the Entire Family 4100 Bellaire Avenue www.WhiteBearLakeDental.com
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020 VOL. 125 NO. 5 www.whitebearpress.com $1.00
2020 ELECTION RESULTS: See how local candidates fared PAGE 10
ALL PHOTOS BY DEBRA NEUTKENS | SUBMITTED
SUBMITTED
WWII veteran Rose (Polga) Bayuk, an Army nurse, celebrated her 105th birthday a day early Nov. 1 when friends and family drove past her house in White Bear Lake to wish her Happy Birthday.
Navy Lt. Junior Grade Gary Norman, right, receives a certificate of rank advancement from a commanding officer.
Veterans Day has special double meaning White Bear Lake public safety personnel lead the Rose parade W parade. BY DEBRA NEUTKENS STAFF WRITER
At 105, Rose gets her own parade BY DEBRA NEUTKENS STAFF WRITER
One of Minnesota’s oldest WWII veterans still plays bridge, still does laundry and still participates in the family book club. She may not entertain like she used to, but Rose Bayuk still enjoys a good party. Unfortunately, a big bash planned for her 105th birthday was cancelled, but Bayuk’s niece organized the next best thing during a pandemic: a surprise car parade. The milestone birthday parade drew a long string of decked-out vehicles down Fourth Street Nov. 1. White Bear Lake PD and Fire lead the entourage past Rose, who was comfortably settled on a heated blanket to watch and wave at family and friends. The Press did a story on the Army veteran when she turned 100 in 2015, (“The fountain of youth must be on 4th Street”). In that earlier piece, Bayuk explained how she’d crossed the Atlantic 26 times as an active duty nurse on the U.S. Army Hospital Ship Thistle. She enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps after Pearl Harbor was attacked and spent most of the next four years on the ship. The unarmed Thistle trav-
Gary Norman’s birthday is on Veteran’s Day. The former U.S. Navy pilot turns 80 on Nov. 11, the date also an annual reminder of his service to country. Ever since he was a kid, Norman wanted to fly. He enlisted in the Navy in 1962 to earn his wings on the government’s dime. He was accepted into flight school and sent to Pensacola, Florida, where he flew a variety of trainers before graduating to multiengine aircraft. It was war time in the mid-to-late ’60s and Norman was sent to Vietnam, where he flew a P3 patrol plane, a four-engine turboprop. His crew of 12 had one main mission: to fi nd enemy submarines. The P3 carried sophisticated electronics to locate lurking subs from 1,000 feet over the water and could stay in the air for 15 hours. “That was about five hours too long,” Norman said. Spotters also looked for Chinese gun boats that carried armaments to the Viet Cong. “We would send destroyers in to blow them out of the water,” Norman recalled. “If you ever wanted to see a Fourth of July, that was it.” The squadron of 12 airplanes suffered casualties during his deployment, something the White Bear Lake vet will never forget. “We lost two crews in Vietnam. One plane was shot down
eled across the ocean every 30 days from its home port of Charleston, South Carolina, to wherever it was needed; picking up patients in places like Gibraltar, Algeria, Italy and southern France. On its last voyage, the ship navigated the Panama Canal, cruising on to Hawaii and The Philippines, eventually returning to Los Angeles. Ocean travel did not bother her, Bayuk said, which was good because seasick nurses were dropped at the closest port and sent home. After the war, Bayuk returned to her hometown of Buhl, Minnesota and worked as a school nurse. She married Ed Bayuk in 1947 and moved to White Bear Lake in 1955 when Ed was hired as city manager. He died in 1999. Bayuk’s memory is still sharp and her health remarkably good. The diminutive centenarian has been spared hip and knee replacements and still climbs several flights of stairs in her home, exercise she considers helpful. She takes no medication except the occasional aspirin and vitamins and she doesn’t fret about COVID-19, noting as a retired nurse, she knows how to sanitize and take precautions. SEE ROSE, PAGE 14
• Family Owned and Operated • Dealership level service with personal feel! • Full service Foreign & Domestic Auto Repair.
> > > www.podstire.com < < <
Ryan & Nicole Podewils OPEN: Monday – Friday • 8am-6pm NEWS 651-407-1230 whitebearnews@presspubs.com
Pod’s is your one stop shop for all your automotive needs. We offer full service auto repair, vehicle accessories and automotive detailing!
SEE PILOT, PAGE 15
CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF SERVICE IN THE WHITE BEAR AREA
CIRCULATION 651-407-1234 circ@presspubs.com
Oil Change &Tire Rotation
19
$
Any Service
.90
-Up to-
Reg. $50.89
Semi synthetic oil (up to 5 qts) Tire Rotation WVPU[ PUZWLJ[PVUZ ;VW VMM HSS Å\PKZ Up to 5 quarts semi synthetic oil. Most cars and light trucks. Some restrictions may apply. Exp. 11/30/20 WBC100
3634 Scheuneman Rd. • White Bear Lake, MN • (651) 426-4640 ADVERTISING 651-407-1200 marketing@presspubs.com
NOVEMBER SPECIALS! $
40 OFF
*Based on 10% of service. Some restrictions may apply. Exp. 11/30/20
3634 Scheuneman Rd. • White Bear Lake • 651-426-4640
CLASSIFIED 651-407-1250 classified@presspubs.com
PRODUCTION 651-407-1239 artmanager@presspubs.com
WBC105
683341
Relatives wished Aunt Rose a Happy Birthday Birthday.